Leo panted, his hands trembling from the mana strain. He ended up using more than the amount regenerated.

Mana: 231 / 6021 -> 356 / 6021 -> 497 / 6021

But still, the quick regeneration prevented him from collapsing. The mana crystal was still being absorbed.

He glanced toward the smaller worm. It was still pinned, half-impaled by Niri's vine, thrashing less with each passing second as the vitality-draining effect slowly bled it dry.

Steam rose from the battlefield. The ground was torn, soaked in blood and dirt. Shyra stood beside him, chest heaving, her black fur matted crimson, giving it a horror look.

"Still alive," Leo muttered, glaring at the mutilated body before him. "Stubborn bastards."

He tightened his grip on the dagger. The Peak 2-star's head turned toward him, still refusing to die, its circular maw twitching weakly as if to lunge one last time.

Leo's breath came out heavy, but a grin tugged at his lips. "Fine. Let's finish it."

"[Spike Pores]!"

The moment he activated the skill, a spray of green mist burst from his hand, drifting outward like a poisonous fog. The air thickened with the faint scent of bark and something sharp.

And a moment later—

pisch! pisch! pisch! pisch! pisch!

With a rapid series of wet, sickening penetration sounds, the fallen worm's entire body puffed outward, riddled with holes as if stabbed from the inside out. Its flesh quivered, then slumped.

Then the same sound echoed again—this time coming from the High 2-star worm. Its thick hide bulged, ruptured, and tore open at dozens of points, each burst spraying dark, muddy blood across the ground.

Leo barely blinked. He only confirmed the kill through the system notifications flashing before him. There were several other messages he ignored immediately—now wasn't the time to get distracted by numbers.

With a sharp exhale, he bent his knees and leapt, reaching the level where the smaller worm hung impaled on Niri's vine. He could tell at a glance that Niri was pouring most of her remaining strength into keeping that giant vine steady, her little body trembling with the effort.

Grunting, Leo tightened his grip on his dagger and thrust down with everything he had into the worm's flesh just below the vine's hold.

The blade sank in—but not deeply enough.

The worm's muscles were too tight, too compact. It was like trying to carve into living stone.

"Come on—!" he hissed through his teeth.

Leo shoved his free hand into the worm's body, fingers sinking into hot, slippery flesh until he had a firm anchor. His boots braced against a torn ridge of muscle. Veins bulged along his arms, neck, and even his temples. His muscles knotted, trembled—and with a raw shout, he forced the dagger downward.

The worm's skin split.

Its muscles tore.

A deafening screech tore through the air, sharper than any before.

Once the initial resistance gave way, the rest was almost effortless. Its hide parted under the blade like cloth, Leo sliding down its frame as if he were holding onto a knife ripping straight through fabric. Dark, dirty blood surged out in waves, drenching the ground and splattering across his arms in steaming bursts.

The gaping wound widened with every thrash of the worm's dying body.

But before it could even attempt another desperate move—

Shyra materialised beside its mouth, eyes cold and blazing with fury. Both of her front paws glowed with the whitish shimmer of [Critical Strike]. Without hesitation, she began slashing—left, right, left, right—each strike a blur, each hit carving deeper. Chunks of flesh flew. Teeth snapped. The worm's entire upper half began collapsing under the assault.

Leo couldn't help but think she was taking revenge for getting blasted away earlier.

Shyra's final strike tore straight through the worm's mouth, splitting the grinder maw cleanly down the middle.

A final system notification flickered.

Kill Confirmed.

Only then did the battlefield fall completely silent.

Both Shyra and Niri looked utterly exhausted. It was especially obvious with Niri—her glow dim, vine wrapped around her body drooping as she slowly hovered down. She floated toward Leo like a withered leaf caught in a breeze.

The tiny spirit gently plopped onto his shoulder, letting her head rest against his head, her arms drape weakly around his chin, and legs wrapped around his neck like a toddler.

"Niiiii~" she whined softly, then closed her eyes, already slipping into recovery, her red leafy hair brushing against his face.

Shyra padded over and lowered herself beside him, her breath heavy and uneven but relieved. Leo let himself collapse backwards onto his butt, the tension releasing from his limbs all at once. Just to be safe, he placed a hand on both Shyra and his own chest, activating [Nature's Heal] to erase any lingering internal damage.

"Haahhh… that was fucking exhausting." He let his head fall back, staring up at the sky between the canopy.

A faint grin tugged at his lips.

"But—" he breathed out, almost laughing, "exciting."

It was finally time to check all the notifications he had ignored.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

…

The sudden barrage made him jump. "Wha—! Wait! Wait! Wait! Let's see one by one." His heart thumped a little from the surprise as he hurried to open them.

"Just what the hell happened…" he muttered, scrolling through the list.

12-segmented Worm (Peak 2-star) Killed – 6000xp

10-segmented Worm (High 2-star) Killed – 4000xp

Consecutive High-level Kill Bonus – 2000xp

Level 18: 3863 / 6672 → 6672 / 6672

Level Up!

Level 19: 0 / 8673 → 8673 / 8673

Level Up!

Level 20: 518 / 11275

+8 Unassigned Stat Points

<Due to continuous body regeneration after getting damaged, Vitality and Stamina increases>

<Due to valuable experience gained, high mana usage, mental pressure, Intelligence increases>

Another crisp chime followed.

Ding!

Updated Stats:

Vitality: 50.9 → 51.9

Strength: 48.1

Agility: 55.1

Stamina: 43.9 → 46.9

Intelligence: 66.9 → 67.4

Mana: 6021 → 768 / 6066

Ding!

Various Skills have levelled up!

[Stealth] – 2% (High) → 39% (High)

[Critical Strike] – 10% (Intermediate) → 92% (Intermediate)

[Vine Estranglement] – 5% (Low) → 23% (Intermediate)– Increased control, larger area, and stronger vines.

[Nature's Heal] – 2% (Low) → 65% (Low)

[Spike Pores] – 43% (Low) → 2% (Intermediate)

– More damage, longer duration, increased spore formation.

"Nice! With this, I am more powerful!" He clenched his fist, excitement buzzing through him like a small electric pulse. But before he could let that satisfaction settle—

Ding!

<Level 20 reached>

<System will go through a major update>

"Eh? What!" His back stiffened instinctively as a cold ripple ran down his spine.

<System Updating: 1% → 23% → 52% → 99% → 100%>

<System Updated>

Ding!

Major Changes:

Stats increment changes → Each level-up increases the host's base stats by 50% (1.5x)

Tamed Beast Growth → Tamed Beasts no longer require a digestion period for high-level cores; growth is achieved through the system's assistance

Warning! Do not feed cores that are 4 or more star levels higher than the Beast. Potential risk of Beast going berserk.

"What!" Leo exclaimed, the word ripping out of him before he could stop it. His body jolted upright, spine straightening as if someone had poured cold water down his back.

"50% base stat increase per level? Isn't that fucking overpowered!?"

His eyes widened further the more he read. The disbelief in his voice echoed faintly in the quiet cavern.

"And what's this? Tamed beasts no longer require a digestion period?" He reread the line—once, twice, a third time—tilting the translucent blue panel as if a different angle would reveal a correction. "No way… am I reading it wrong?"

He wasn't.

He clearly remembered how long Shyra usually took to digest even a similar-level core of her own. The days of slow absorption. And now the system was saying that entire process just… vanished?

Didn't that mean—if he had enough cores—he could literally evolve Shyra and Niri into monsters just by sitting in one place?

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a faint warmth blooming against his shoulder.

A soft white glow pulsed from Niri's small body.

Niri [Dryad] – High 2-star → Peak 2-star

"It actually happened…" Leo whispered, feeling the hairs on his arm rise. "I think it was the previous soil worm's core that got digested."

It made sense, of course.

Shyra and Niri were advancing ridiculously fast—but that wasn't because they were special. It was because he was capable of feeding them high-star cores. Most tamers would never dare feed their beasts anything even one star above their level unless they had a strong background and powerful backing.

Starting from 2-star cores, the price curve spiked sharply.And 3-star beast cores? They could be traded for gold coins.Elemental beast cores were even worse—treasures people killed for.

"Okay… that aside." Leo exhaled, shaking off the swirl of thoughts. "But base stats? Are those… mine? As in, without the feedback bonuses? System, show my base stats."

The panel shifted.

Vitality: 21.9  [51.9 + 5]

Strength: 18.1  [48.1 + 5]

Agility: 25   [55.1 + 5]

Stamina: 16.9  [46.9 + 5]

Intelligence: 37.4  [67.4 + 5]

Unallocated Stat Points: 12

{+5 because Niri just levelled up}

"Uh…" Leo scratched his jaw, lips twitching. "It averages around low 2-star to intermediate 2-star, except Intelligence." Then it clicked. "I guess that's thanks to the Elasian Bloom."

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